Commonly assigned patent applications, Ser. No. 768,259, filed Aug. 22, 1985; Ser. No. 833,304, filed Feb. 26, 1986 (now U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,346 issued Apr. 26, 1988); and Ser. No. 06/854,235 (now U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,115 issued Feb. 9, 1988) describe methods of forming hollow fiber reinforced structures. Resin transfer molding (RTM) is used in the aforementioned applications in which resin impregnates fiber material disposed between mold pieces, with an inflatable bladder occupying a hollow area of the structures being formed. The present application utilizes some of the method steps described in the above mentioned applications which are hereby incorporated by reference.
In many automotive and other products, it is necessary to form parts in which a laminate consisting of one or more large areas of thin, solid, sheet-like regions are joined to hollow sections to form integral structures. Some automotive parts for example, may include rear panels, dashes, fire walls or the like.